Monthly Archives: September 2011

Chicken roulade – BIN 38

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Chicken roulade BIN 38

Served with butter beans, greens and a salsa verde. I’m not sure what were the purple leaves. $20
BIN 38, San Francisco

Wow, this chicken was melt-in-your-mouth good! I’m not sure how they cook it, but it was SO tender and juicy. I’m assuming it was cooked sous-vide, then seared for color and texture. I’d be surprised if it was roasted since there was absolutely no dry spots, but then I’m not a chef – lol! I don’t often eat chicken out at restaurants but if they were all as perfect and flavorful as this one, I would order it all the time. Great job, BIN 38!

Wild boar sugo – BIN 38

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Wild boar sugo BIN 38

Served with pappardelle, summer greens, tomatoes, cheese, purple basil and a 63 degree egg. $19
BIN 38, San Francisco

Ever had a dish that looked amazing, but was sabotaged by one ingredient? Ding, ding, ding, ding! This dish was absolutely beautiful and tasty (I think), but the summer green (whatever it was, somekind of brassica) was overpoweringly bitter. I couldn’t taste anything else, and the bitter flavor continued to linger and intensify in my mouth as I ate more. The pasta was cooked perfectly, but I couldn’t really taste the wild boar sugo because (1) the aforementioned summer green killed my taste buds and (2) there was so LITTLE of it! For some positives, the 63 degree egg was amazing and flowed beautifully over the plate after it was broken and the colors from the tomatoes and purple basil were striking.

Spanish red wine flight – BIN 38

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Spanish red wine flight Bin 38

“The Most Interesting Man in the World Prefers…” Wine Flight.  $18
From left to right:
Beronia Rioja Reserva Tempranillo 2006 (Spain)
Vall Llach ‘Embruix’ Priorat 2006 (Spain)
Numanthia ‘Termes’ Tempranillo Toro 2008 (Spain)
BIN 38, San Francisco

This was such a disappointing wine flight!  I usually enjoy most Spanish reds but I was underwhelmed by these glasses.  I like the Numanthia Tempranillo most, but not by much.  They all had odd flavors and unpleasant finishes.

Here’s my Wine Notes app ratings:
4.2/10 – Beronia Rioja Reserva
2.0/10 – Vall Llach
4.9/10 – Numanthia

Grilled calamari – BIN 38

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Grilled calamari BIN 38

Served with cauliflower, arugula, fennel, olives, croutons and preserved lemon. $12
BIN 38, San Francisco

This was a refreshing plate but disappointing because it’s not what I thought I ordered. The menu read “Grilled calamari” and perhaps the squid was grilled at some point, but there was so much citrus juice in the dressing that the calamari got further cooked by the acid and its texture changed drastically. It could have almost been called a “ceviche” at that point! I did appreciate the different textures from the fennel, croutons, cauliflower, etc. I’m not sure what was the painted green puree on the plate. It was never explained and I forgot to ask.  Pretty dish…

Spinach crab ravioli – Anchor Oyster Bar

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Spinach crab ravioli Anchor Oyster Bar

Beautifully striped ravioli pasta filled with spinach, artichoke, and ricotta cheese.  Topped with lump crab meat, smothered in a wonderful lemon butter sauce, and sprinkled with paprika.
Anchor Oyster Bar, San Francisco

I have to admit that I was a little surprised (and impressed) at this dish. I think of Anchor Oyster Bar as serving simple, delicious food – caring more about freshness and quality than presentation. So the spinach-striped pasta was a nice surpise. It was abolutely beautiful and had a wonderful sheen to it. The ravioli was cooked perfectly and the crab meat was SO delicious. This was another special item on their menu, but I would love to see this again!

Garlic dungeness crab – Anchor Oyster Bar

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Garlic dungeness crab Anchor Oyster Bar

Pan roasted 1/2 dungeness crab with sliced garlic, sprigs of thyme, parsley, lemon and LOTS of butter.
Anchor Oyster Bar, San Francisco

This was actually a special they had that night, and I was in absolute heaven!  The crab was fresh and tasted amazing!  I squeezed most of the lemon onto the dish and it added even more flavor and brightened up the garlicky butter sauce.  It was no easy feat extracting all the flesh from the crab, but I did a pretty good job.  I didn’t want any of that soft, tender crab meat to go to waste.  As you will see, I don’t mind getting messy and eating with my hands – I am Filipino, lol!  This dish was so comforting and I used the table sourdough bread to soak up all the butter sauce.  Thank goodness I live in San Francisco.  We get our fair share of amazing crab!

Chardonnay Anchor Oyster Bar

Mezza Corona Chardonnay 2009, Italy

I didn’t like this white wine very much.  I rated it 3.3/10 on the Wine Notes app on my phone.  But dinner always tastes better with a glass of wine, mediocre or not…

Boston clam chowder – Anchor Oyster Bar

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Boston clam chowder Anchor Oyster Bar
A mouth watering cup of one of the best clam chowders in San Francisco! Cup $4.25
Anchor Oyster Bar, San Francisco

This creamy Boston clam chowder has such amazing flavor! It’s not too thick, nor is it too runny. What I love about this chowder is it’s simplicity – the ingredients are the stars. You can taste all the vegetables, the clams, and the cream. Anchor Oyster Bar has always served straightforward food made with amazing ingredients. And I think that’s the key to their success. It’s a small restaurant and there’s always a wait for their delicious seafood, but don’t get discouraged, the tables somehow turn quickly.

7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2011, 2012

Boston clam chowder - Anchor Oyster Bar
March 14, 2015. Bowl $6.50

Sourdough bread Anchor Oyster Bar
There’s a bowl of cute oyster cracker bags on every table for the chowder, but you can also get a large chunk of delicious, crusty sour dough bread with pats of Dairygold butter.  How cute!  $1.95

"3 cups" chicken clay pot – Shanghai Dumpling King

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3 cups chicken clay pot Shanghai Dumpling King

Chicken thigh pieces with sliced onions, mushrooms, green onions, ginger, garlic, and star anise. $6.95
Shanghai Dumpling King, San Francisco

I was surprised at how much this clay pot tasted like Filipino chicken adobo, just less vinegary and with more ingredients. I think the addition of mushrooms and star anise made it more earthy, resulting in a more Chinese flavor. This dish was super hearty and very delicious! I personally love clay pots because they tend to be saucy and pair perfectly with steamed rice to soak up all the yummy juices. This is definitely going on my “Re-order” list!

Gyoza – Crazy Sushi

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Gyoza Crazy Sushi

Deep fried pork potstickers with gyoza sauce.
Crazy Sushi, San Francisco

An order of gyoza at Crazy Sushi only comes with 4 potstickers, but they are delicious!  Oh, how I love gyoza!  Hey, you can’t go wrong with deep fried pork in a crispy dumpling wrapper.  These were steaming hot out of the fryer, and dunking then in the salty/umami gyoza sauce puts them over the top.  I could seriously eat a tray of these.

Oranges Crazy Sushi

I don’t even like fresh oranges that much, but I do appreciate when sushi bars serve complimentary fruit like these segmented oranges because it’s nice when they take the time to cut and prepare extra treats for their guests. Yay!

Polenta cake – Bar Agricole

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Polenta cake Bar Agricole

Served with peaches, raspberries and whipped cream. $9
Bar Agricole, San Francisco

This dessert was very good. The polenta cake was perfectly baked, and I loved the texture. You could feel the polenta grains playing in your mouth. The peaches were simply prepared, but were ripe and delicious. And the raspberries looked beautiful on the plate. The syrup added extra sweetness and moisture to the entire dish. Simple and delicious!

Plum galette – Bar Agricole

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Plum galette Bar Agricole

Served with lemon verbena ice cream and a ginger crumble. $9
Bar Agricole, San Francisco

While this desert tasted fine, there was something about it that felt a little flat. Perhaps the portion was too small, or perhaps the plate looked a little sad – I’m not sure. I did love the additional fo the ginger flavored crumble. It added a great flavor and texture to an otherwise boring(ish) plate.

Grilled beef shortribs – Bar Agricole

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Grilled beef shortribs Bar Agricole

Thick cut shortribs with scarlet turnips, padron peppers and romesco sauce. $30
Bar Agricole, San Francisco

This was one of my favorite dishes at Bar Agricole. I guess you can’t go wrong with perfectly grilled, fatty shortribs, lol! It’s hard to see from the pic, but there was a lot of ribs on the plate. I actually couldn’t finish all of them, but not wanting them to go to waste, I had them boxed up (hehe). The padron peppers were SO yummy, but I’m biased since padron peppers are my favorite. The turnips were good, but some pieces were a little dry. The romesco sauce provided another wonderful flavor and went perfectly with the grilled beef. I would order this again in a quick second!